Louisiana fires off a letter to her friend in Sitka, Alaska, Adriadne Kopell, who has two small children to raise. She is finally getting around to answer some of the emails that have seemed to have gotten away from her.
Tuesday, June 21, 2005 (4:30 p.m., C.D.T.)~
Dear Adriadne~
I am sure you have probably been wondering what on earth has happened to me (or if I am even ALIVE!). Well, as you can see, I AM still alive, but I have been unbelievably busy. With 52 kids to raise, free time doesn't come very easily for me, and I also have been busy working oodles of hours, plus I have been busy with the adoption community, advising other families about adoption, sending out articles to various magazines, and writing my head off...now you can see why I haven't written. I am sorry to have worried you, but I AM fine...REALLY, I AM!!
Thank you for your letter; glad that Brittyn and Ryan are doing better. That is good, but I was sorry to hear that your daughter was sick with the "runs" and the "urpsies". I hope she is feeling MUCH better by now! How are they doing with their health, and is there anything new or exciting happening in their lives? There are new developments in mine; here goes...
First of all, when I last wrote to you, Bill and myself were getting ready to go to Greece for a wedding. Well, we went, and we were in Greece for a week; and it was WONDERFUL! We really enjoyed ourselves, but I think I must have gained at least thirty pounds eating all that wonderful Greek cookin'! LOL I am fatter than I ever have been, and I have had to get some new clothes in a bigger size because the ones I had prior to going to Greece were tight on me! (OOPSIE! LOL) We would love to go back to Greece; it was beautiful there, and the people bent over backwards to ensure that our vacation was a memorable one!
Secondly of all, we are in the middle of waiting for our new child...yes, you heard and read right...we are adopting ANOTHER child, this time a little girl from Romania! Her name is Janica Kryzstina, and she is eight years old, and she is so pretty! She has short, dark-brown hair, green eyes, and freckles on her face, and she is so adorable! We were expecting her to come by Christmas, but now it looks like it MAY be before Hallowe'en! So now we will soon have an amazing *53 kids* in our International Family!! (Our new daughter to be, like the majority of our children, is a child with special needs: she has spina bifida, and she can walk, but on crutches and braces on her legs; or she uses a wheelchair for longer trips.) We are already counting the days to when Janica will join our family; that is going to be a very exciting day!!
Thirdly, one of my friends in California (Kendra Mae Williams) is getting ready to adopt yet again...she just recently added a 14th child to her family, a little eight-year-old blonde-haired girl with cerebral palsy (her name is Chelsea), and she is getting ready to add a 15th child, another little girl, this time from Sri Lanka! Her name will be America Hope! She will be there in the next several days, so I am sure it WON'T be long before I hear from Kendra again!! She is very excited too, as you can probably imagine!!
How is the weather there in Sitka? I hope it isn't too bad there! Here, it is partly cloudy, with temps in the 80's, really delightful for the first day of summer! The kids are outside, in the pool, and Bill and I are watching them; and we are just soaking up some of the sun's rays. We are just taking it easy today, which is something of a rarity at our house: seems that we are always rippin' and roarin' for one reason or another! LOL
We heard from our friend in Anchorage, Jenna Aurora Doucet, and for a while, she was having serious problems; but it seems that the problems have ended for her, thank goodness. She and Michael, her husband, HAD seperated, but now Michael is back, and they are trying to work out their problems and are trying to communicate better. I was so worried about her, but now I am happy that she is trying to fix the problems in her life and try to move on, which is what she should have done in the first place!
I am also writing to more people...a lady in Arizona who was injured in Iraq last year (she lost her leg), and a woman in California (no, NOT Kendra or Louisa; she is a friend of theirs, though...I also write to another friend of theirs, America Faith, who lives close to them), and now YOU! *grins* Seems that if I am not working or raising my village LOL, I am busy writing my fool head off! LOL I write so much, it's a miracle my head doesn't pop right off my body, and it's a wonder my fingers don't end up in a permanent state of crampiness! LOL So if you don't hear from me, now you know WHY! LOL I just hope you understand...
I also was looking at the mountain of unanswered emails, and I still have yet to write to friends like Greta Wagner, Coral Ridgeway, Erin McDonnell, Sikik Eegeesiak, Ellen and Walter Jones, Bart Simpson (don't laugh; that is the man's OFFICIAL name; he lives in Ohio), Eddie Greene, B.J. Ciagalore, and many others! (Time to get BUSY, Louie, with your letters....ARGGGGHHHHH! LOL) No wonder I get so little in the way of sleep at night...I am ALWAYS on the computer, WRITING!! LOL
Well, Adriadne, I hope you aren't mad at me. If you are, I can understand, but as you can tell, I am a very busy woman (probably busier than most, I'd say!! LOL)! I will write as time permits..it may NOT be right away, but I WILL write WHEN I can!
I have to go now; time to seperate Andre', Jo-El, and Roberto, who are in the middle of a MAJOR crutch fight...they are yelling at one another, and they are beating each other over their heads with their crutches...before there is damage to one (or all) of their heads, I'd better end this right now...take care, Adriadne, and God bless! Write soon!
(((HUGS))) and much love, your friend in Tennessee, Louisiana Mayrah Sandusky. :)
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Reviewed by Susan Barton
6/23/2005
I LOVE the Greek food. It would be great to read about stuffed grape leaves and moussaka and lentil soup and spanikopita and... I think I'm gaining weight just writing about it :)
The familiar lament of dual-career parents raising children is, "I just can't do it all." The Libra Solution provides an alternative - a more satisfying and sustainable work and life approach - to the overwrought modern day norm.
The familiar lament of dual-career parents raising children is, "I just can't do it all." The Libra Solution provides an alternative - a more satisfying and sustainable work and life approach - to the overwrought modern day norm.
The familiar lament of dual-career parents raising children is, "I just can't do it all." The Libra Solution provides an alternative - a more satisfying and sustainable work and life approach - to the overwrought modern day norm.
Tuesday, June 21, 2005 (4:30 p.m., C.D.T.)~
